CAIRO: Egyptian court sentenced 12 Egyptians to death for forming a terrorist cell affiliated to Islamic State (IS) group, Youm7 reported Saturday.
The cell is headed by a person called Khaled Maghawry, who is accused of recruiting youth and training them to join the IS group in Syria.
The cell targeted the security of Egypt, sabotaging and violence incitement against police and Copts, according to Youm7.
Six of the cell members were tried in absentia, while the rest are already behind bars.
According to Youm7, it is the first cell to be caught affiliated to IS group in Egypt.
In September 2014, eight members of a new “terrorist cell,” allegedly in contact with the Islamic State group (IS), were arrested by Homeland Security in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqia.
The leader of the cell was arrested as he was attempting to travel from Egypt to Syria via Turkey while another member was arrested in an airport in Alexandria.
The cell was in possession of large sums of money in “foreign funds to carry out terrorist acts across Egypt,” security investigations said.